Summer League 2006: Pick 5
It's never too early to plan for the summer and this year the Celtics, once again, have too many young faces for the roster spaces in the Las Vegas Summer league. The NBA only allows five NBA players on a summer league team which means that one of our eager eight is going to have to sit. The options are: Kendrick Perkins, Delonte West, Tony Allen, Al Jefferson, Dwayne Jones, Gerald Green, Orien Greene and Ryan Gomes.
The Inked Ins:
For me, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes and Tony Allen should all be signed in in ink right now. No penciling them in, they need to be in the summer league. Green clearly needs playing time in any situation. Gomes has shown his ability to play the four but I think he could benefit from a summer holding down the SF position. Meanwhile, Tony needs to work on his outside shot in game situations and also could work in at the point since it seems like Doc thinks he might be able to get spot minutes there. The Obvious Out:
Defense is Kendrick Perkins' game and that is something rarely seen in the summer. Also, with his shoulder acting up, I think it would be better to give him some rest rather than rushing him into the exhibition games. The Confidence Men:
This section varies. First, there's Al the Ankle. If Jefferson's joints are still questionable by the time summer roles around, I'd give his trip to Vegas some serious second thoughts. I'd rather not put him in jeopardy of another injury for some summer league games. While we have to be confident with Al's health, we might already be confident enough in the game of Delonte the Dimedropper. While Delonte could definitely use the practice on his handle and defense, he needs the summer league less than anyone. He's shown what he can do and there's not much else to prove. One thing that could be beneficial would be making him the captain of the team which could help him work on his leadership abilities and force him to really control the game while running the show. Finally there's Dwayne and Orien. They don't get silly nicknames because we don't know if we want to spend that much time on players that won't be on the roster next season. If we draft a PG, I'd be stunned if Orien had a roster spot. If we draft a big man, Dwayne's likely the odd man out. Of course, if Rudy Gay falls or we take Rodney Carney, then all bets are off. The Verdict?: Right now, I'd say: Green, Gomes, Allen, Big Al, Orien/Jones (and if we draft a SF, then we stick with Greene). As for the rest of the roster, it's way to early to tell who'll be drafted and who'll be left out but at first look, I'd invite these five to join our five (plus our draft choice):
Chris Quinn (Notre Dame), Kenny Adeleke (Hartford), Viktor Keirou (Russia), Marcus Haislip, Brandon Williams. (Not sure how it works inviting vets but Haislip has been overseas while Williams was in the NBDL)
For me, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes and Tony Allen should all be signed in in ink right now. No penciling them in, they need to be in the summer league. Green clearly needs playing time in any situation. Gomes has shown his ability to play the four but I think he could benefit from a summer holding down the SF position. Meanwhile, Tony needs to work on his outside shot in game situations and also could work in at the point since it seems like Doc thinks he might be able to get spot minutes there. The Obvious Out:
Defense is Kendrick Perkins' game and that is something rarely seen in the summer. Also, with his shoulder acting up, I think it would be better to give him some rest rather than rushing him into the exhibition games. The Confidence Men:
This section varies. First, there's Al the Ankle. If Jefferson's joints are still questionable by the time summer roles around, I'd give his trip to Vegas some serious second thoughts. I'd rather not put him in jeopardy of another injury for some summer league games. While we have to be confident with Al's health, we might already be confident enough in the game of Delonte the Dimedropper. While Delonte could definitely use the practice on his handle and defense, he needs the summer league less than anyone. He's shown what he can do and there's not much else to prove. One thing that could be beneficial would be making him the captain of the team which could help him work on his leadership abilities and force him to really control the game while running the show. Finally there's Dwayne and Orien. They don't get silly nicknames because we don't know if we want to spend that much time on players that won't be on the roster next season. If we draft a PG, I'd be stunned if Orien had a roster spot. If we draft a big man, Dwayne's likely the odd man out. Of course, if Rudy Gay falls or we take Rodney Carney, then all bets are off. The Verdict?: Right now, I'd say: Green, Gomes, Allen, Big Al, Orien/Jones (and if we draft a SF, then we stick with Greene). As for the rest of the roster, it's way to early to tell who'll be drafted and who'll be left out but at first look, I'd invite these five to join our five (plus our draft choice):
Chris Quinn (Notre Dame), Kenny Adeleke (Hartford), Viktor Keirou (Russia), Marcus Haislip, Brandon Williams. (Not sure how it works inviting vets but Haislip has been overseas while Williams was in the NBDL)
